Hurricane Shelter Deficiency Needs to be Corrected

We are remarkably unprepared to protect public lives in the event of a major hurricane. Highway evacuation is not always a viable option due to the extremely long evacuation times. Hurricane shelters provide an alternative for those who cannot safely evacuate.

The 2024 Statewide Emergency Shelter Plan confirms what we already know: Southwest Florida is deficient in hurricane shelters and is projected to remain deficient until at least 2029.

There’s substantial reason to doubt that this region, or the rest of Florida, is prepared for significant storm events. Officials in Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte counties have known for years that they don’t have sufficient shelter space.

There are simply more people in flood-prone areas than there are shelters to protect them.

The present and increasing shortage of hurricane shelters needed to accommodate the people in Manatee and Sarasota counties is alarming.

At a minimum, Comprehensive Plans must be amended to require all new county buildings to be constructed to function as hurricane shelters. Local governments should construct their public buildings to function as hurricane shelters. Appropriate core facility areas in new public buildings should be constructed to hurricane shelter standards. This would add approximately 5 percent to construction costs—an amount that could be recouped through impact fees assessed to developers.

We strongly support coordination with the State to retrofit existing school facilities that have been found to be unsafe to function as hurricane shelters. ManaSota-88 would support any action or cooperation the school districts may take in retrofitting school facilities to function safely as hurricane shelters.

The Manatee and Sarasota school boards should not seek exemptions to Section 235.017, Florida Statutes, which requires core facilities in new school buildings to be built sufficient to function as public hurricane shelters.

Although ManaSota-88 and other public interest groups have warned of the catastrophic losses that would occur from a major storm, state and local governments continue to permit and subsidize development in low-lying coastal areas.

Due to the lack of shelter space for hurricane evacuation, the Manatee and Sarasota County Commission should enact a temporary development moratorium on all lands located in the coastal high-hazard area.

A temporary development moratorium can be legally adopted if it furthers and is logically related to stated legitimate interests or concerns. Protecting residents from the impacts of a significant storm event is certainly a legitimate interest or concern.

A temporary building moratorium in the coastal high-hazard area should be enacted until adequate hurricane shelters and evacuation plans exist.

Future development resulting in shelter shortage must be limited. There is a lack of proper planning to protect the public's safety in the event of a hurricane disaster. Why are we increasing housing density without sufficient shelter space?

Development plans, rezonings, and plan amendments need to be restrained "to the full extent available by law.” This will present specific solutions to a deteriorating public safety issue. Local leaders need to accept the fact that there is a major problem with the lack of proper hurricane shelters.

Glenn Compton is the Chairman of ManaSota 88, a non-profit organization that has spent over 30 years fighting to protect the environment of Manatee and Sarasota counties.